In a post shared on X, businessman and 2024 hopeful Vivek Ramaswamy claimed he did not say he plans to pardon Hunter Biden if elected president.

I respect my competitors in this GOP primary, but it’s deeply disappointing to see some of their teams – more precisely, their Super PACs – spew so many lies in response to our momentum. No, I don’t have any plans to pardon Hunter Biden. It’s planted trash. When you strike the…

— Vivek Ramaswamy (@VivekGRamaswamy) August 14, 2023

Verdict: Misleading

The claim appears to be misleading. Ramaswamy said he was “open to evaluating” pardons for the Biden family, according to an Aug. 12 article from the New York Post. Ramaswamy also appeared to float the idea of pardons for the younger Biden, former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, and former President Donald Trump during a recent appearance on the “Timcast IRL” podcast.

Fact Check:

Ramaswamy appeared at the Iowa State Fair on Aug. 13, according to Fox News. Ramaswamy spoke at Republican Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds’s “Fair-Side Chat” and also rapped Eminem’s song “Lose Yourself” during the event, the Des Moines Register reported.

“No, I don’t have any plans to pardon Hunter Biden. It’s planted trash. When you strike the swamp, the swamp strikes back,” Ramaswamy wrote via his X post, which has garnered over 1.2 million views as of writing.

The claim appears to be misleading. Ramaswamy said he was “open to evaluating” pardons for the Biden family, according to the Aug. 12 New York Post article. The move, Ramaswamy said, would be “in the interest of moving the nation forward.”

“After I am [done] leading the great revival. After we have shut down the FBI, after we have refurbished the Department of Justice, after we have systemically pardoned anyone who was a victim of a political motivated persecution — from Donald Trump and peaceful January 6 protests — then would I would be open to evaluating pardons for members of the Biden family in the interest of moving the nation forward,” Ramaswamy told the outlet.

“It is a broad theme of this candidacy, leading us to a national renewal rather than a national divorce. It’s part of a broader vision of an American revitalization,” he continued.

Likewise, Ramaswamy also appeared to float the idea of pardons for the younger Biden, Clinton, and Trump during a recent appearance on the “Timcast IRL” podcast.

After podcast co-host Ian Crossland posed the question of pardons, Ramaswamy mentioned he would pardon Trump, noting that he didn’t want to see the “federal administrative state eliminate [his] competition.”

“I think there will come a time when, once we have spoken the truth and I don’t think we’re there yet, I think there are truths that yet still need to be exposed where I would be willing to say that we go around the table 360 Degrees, we acknowledge the truth, we will not lie, we’ll not sweep it under a rug, but we will lay down arms and say we are moving forward as one nation,” Ramaswamy said during the podcast.

Ramaswamy also noted that many people might not be thrilled about his plans if elected. (RELATED: Did Vivek Ramaswamy Call Juneteenth’ Useless’ Two Months After Celebrating It?)

In addition, Ramaswamy said he would not prosecute the Biden family if elected during an Aug. 13 appearance on the Fox News program “Sunday Morning Futures” with Maria Bartiromo, according to The Hill. During the same appearance, Ramaswamy told Bartiromo recent comments claiming he would be open to pardoning the younger Biden had been taken out of context and were part of “opposition research,” The Hill also reported.

Check Your Fact has contacted Ramaswamy’s campaign and the author of the New York Post article for comment and will update this piece accordingly if one is received.